European (UEFA) 2026 World Cup qualifying schedule, dates, results, format

The last and biggest — certainly the most-celebrated — confederation to begin qualifying for the 2026 World Cup is UEFA, and Europe’s nations have learned their groups for qualification.

There are some tricky groups, perhaps none more than Group B, where Switzerland, Sweden, Slovenia, and Kosovo will tangle home-and-away over eight months.

MORE — How will 48-team 2026 World Cup work?

England’s main rivals for an automatic spot are Serbia. Norway’s path to a first World Cup for Erling Haaland, Martin Odegaard, and friends will have to include a pair of scraps with Italy, as well as Israel, Estonia, and Moldova. So far, so good — the Landslaget are 4-0 and beat Italy 3-0 in early June. Luciano Spaletti has been fired as Italy manager as the drama around the Azzurri continues.

Spain, Germany, Portugal, and France will not begin qualifying until September due to their involvement in the UEFA Nations League finals.

European (UEFA) 2026 World Cup qualification format

• First round (March 21-November 18, 2025): Twelve groups of 4-5 nations play round-robin, home-and-away. Group winners qualify for 2026 World Cup. Runners-up reach one of four playoff pahts
• Second round (March 26-31, 2025): Twelve group runners-up plus the four top remaining UEFA Nations League group winners are drawn into four semifinal and final paths. Four path winners qualify for 2026 World Cup.

European (UEFA) World Cup qualification schedule, dates

First round group stage
Groups A-F: March 21 - November 18, 2025
Groups G-L: September 4 - November 18, 2025

Second round
Semifinals — March 26
Finals — March 31

First round fixtures

Kickoff at 2:45 pm ET, unless otherwise stated

Thursday, September 4
Kazakhstan 0-1 Wales
Georgia 2-3 Turkiye
Lithuania 1-1 Malta
Bulgaria 0-3 Spain
Liechtenstein 0-6 Belgium
Luxembourg 1-3 Northern Ireland
Netherlands 1-1 Poland
Slovakia 2-0 Germany

Friday, September 5
Denmark 0-0 Scotland
Faroe Islands 0-1 Croatia
Greece 5-1 Belarus
Iceland 5-0 Azerbaijan
Italy 5-0 Estonia
Moldova 0-4 Israel
Montenegro 0-2 Czechia
Slovenia 2-2 Sweden
Switzerland 4-0 Kosovo
Ukraine 0-2 France

Saturday, September 6
Latvia 0-1 Serbia
Armenia 0-5 Portugal
England 2-0 Andorra
Austria 1-0 Cyprus
Ireland 2-2 Hungary
San Marino 0-6 Bosnia & Herzegovina

Sunday, September 7
Georgia 3-0 Bulgaria
Lithuania 2-3 Netherlands
North Macedonia 5-0 Liechtenstein
Belgium 6-0 Kazakhstan
Germany 3-1 Northern Ireland
Luxembourg 0-1 Slovakia
Poland 3-1 Finland
Turkiye 0-6 Spain

Monday, September 8
Belarus 0-2 Scotland
Croatia 4-0 Montenegro
Gibraltar 0-1 Faroe Islands
Greece 0-3 Denmark
Israel 4-5 Italy
Kosovo 2-0 Sweden
Switzerland 3-0 Slovenia

Tuesday, September 9
Armenia 2-1 Ireland
Azerbaijan 1-1 Ukraine
Albania 1-0 Latvia
Bosnia & Herzegovina 1-2 Austria
Cyprus 2-2 Romania
France 2-1 Iceland
Hungary 2-3 Portugal
Norway 11-1 Moldova
Serbia 0-5 England

Thursday, October 9
Finland vs Lithuania — 12pm ET
Austria vs San Marino
Belarus vs Denmark
Cyprus vs Bosnia & Herzegovina
Czechia vs Croatia
Faroe Islands vs Montenegro
Malta vs Netherlands
Scotland vs Greece

Friday, October 10
Kazakhstan vs Liechtenstein — 10am ET
Belgium vs North Macedonia
France vs Azerbaijan
Germany vs Luxembourg
Iceland vs Ukraine
Kosovo vs Slovenia
Northern Ireland vs Slovakia
Sweden vs Switzerland

Saturday, October 11
Latvia vs Andorra — 9am ET
Hungary vs Armenia — 12pm ET
Norway vs Israel — 12pm ET
Bulgaria vs Turkiye
Estonia vs Italy
Portugal vs Ireland
Serbia vs Albania
Spain vs Georgia

Sunday, October 12
San Marino vs Cyprus — 9am ET
Faroe Islands vs Czechia — 12pm ET
Netherlands vs Finland — 12pm ET
Scotland vs Belarus — 12pm ET
Croatia vs Gibraltar
Denmark vs Greece
Lithuania vs Poland
Romania vs Austria

Monday, October 13
Iceland vs France
North Macedonia vs Kazakhstan
Northern Ireland vs Germany
Slovakia vs Luxembourg
Slovenia vs Switzerland
Sweden vs Kosovo
Ukraine vs Azerbaijan
Wales vs Belgium

Tuesday, October 14
Estonia vs Moldova — 12pm ET
Andorra vs Serbia
Ireland vs Armenia
Italy vs Israel
Latvia vs England
Portugal vs Hungary
Spain vs Bulgaria
Turkiye vs Georgia

Thursday, November 13
Armenia vs Hungary — 12pm ET
Azerbaijan vs Iceland — 12pm ET
Norway vs Estonia — 12pm ET
Andorra vs Albania
England vs Serbia
France vs Ukraine
Ireland vs Portugal
Moldova vs Italy

Friday, November 14
Finland vs Malta — 12pm ET
Croatia vs Faroe Islands
Gibraltar vs Montenegro
Luxembourg vs Germany
Poland vs Netherlands
Slovakia vs Northern Ireland

Saturday, November 15
Kazakhstan vs Belgium — 9am ET
Cyprus vs Austria — 12pm ET
Georgia vs Spain — 12pm ET
Liechtenstein vs Wales — 12pm ET
Turkiye vs Bulgaria — 12pm ET
Bosnia & Herzegovina vs Romania
Denmark vs Belarus
Greece vs Scotland
Slovenia vs Kosovo
Switzerland vs Sweden

Sunday, November 16
Hungary vs Ireland — 9am ET
Portugal vs Armenia — 9am ET
Albania vs England — 12pm ET
Azerbaijan vs France — 12pm ET
Serbia vs Latvia — 12pm ET
Ukraine vs Iceland — 12pm ET
Israel vs Moldova
Italy vs Norway

Monday, November 17
Czechia vs Gibraltar
Germany vs Slovakia
Malta vs Poland
Montenegro vs Croatia
Netherlands vs Lithuaine
Northern Ireland vs Luxembourg

Europe (UEFA) 2026 World Cup qualification table — Draw, groups

Group A

1. Slovakia — 2-0-0, +3 GD, 6 points
2. Northern Ireland — 1-0-1, 0 GD, 3 points
3. Germany — 1-0-1, 0 GD, 3 points
4. Luxembourg — 0-0-2, -3 GD, 0 points

Group B

1. Switzerland — 2-0-0, +7 GD, 6 points
2. Kosovo — 1-0-1, -2 GD, 3 points
3. Sweden — 0-1-1, -2 GD, 1 point
4. Slovenia — 0-1-1, -3 GD, 1 point

Group C

1. Denmark — 1-1-0, +3 GD, 4 points
2. Scotland — 1-1-0, +2 GD, 4 points
3. Greece — 1-0-1, +1 GD, 3 points
4. Belarus — 0-0-2, -6 GD, 0 points

Group D

1. France — 2-0-0, +3 GD, 6 points
2. Iceland — 1-0-1, +4 GD, 3 points
3. Ukraine — 0-1-1, -2 GD, 1 point
4. Azerbaijan — 0-1-1, -5 GD, 1 point

Group E

1. Spain — 2-0-0, +9 GD, 6 points
2. Georgia — 1-0-1, +2 GD, 3 points
3. Turkiye — 1-0-1, -5 GD, 3 points
4. Bulgaria — 0-0-2, -6 GD, 0 points

Group F

1. Portugal — 2-0-0, +6 GD, 6 points
2. Armenia — 1-0-1, -4 GD, 3 points
3. Hungary — 0-1-1, -1 GD, 1 point
4. Republic of Ireland — 0-1-1, -1 GD, 1 point

Group G

1. Netherlands — 3-1-0 — +11 GD — 10 points
2. Poland — 3-1-1 — +4 GD — 10 points
3. Finland — 2-1-2 — -2 GD — 7 points
4. Lithuania — 0-3-2 — -2 GD — 3 points
5. Malta — 0-2-3 — -11 GD — 2 points

Group H

1. Bosnia and Herzegovina — 4-0-0 — +9 GD — 12 points
2. Austria — 3-0-0 — +6 GD — 9 points
3. Romania — 2-0-2 — +4 GD — 6 points
4. Cyprus — 1-0-3 — -2 GD — 3 points
5. San Marino — 0-0-5 — -17 GD — 0 points

Group I

1. Norway — 4-0-0 — +11 GD — 12 points
2. Italy — 3-0-1 — +5 GD — 9 points
3. Israel — 3-0-2 — +4 GD — 9 points
4. Estonia — 1-0-4 — -8 GD — 3 points
5. Moldova — 0-0-4 — -12 GD — 0 points

Group J

1. North Macedonia — 3-2-0 — +9 GD — 11 points
2. Belgium — 3-1-0 — +13 GD — 10 points
3. Wales — 3-1-1 — +5 GD — 10 points
4. Kazakhstan — 1-0-4 — -8 GD — 3 points
5. Liechtenstein — 0-0-5 — -19 GD — 0 points

Group K

1. England — 4-0-0 — +8 GD — 12 points
2. Serbia — 2-1-0 — +4 GD — 7 points
3. Albania — 1-1-2 — +1 GD — 5 points
4. Latvia — 1-1-2 — -3 GD — 4 points
5. Andorra — 0-0-5 — -10 GD — 0 points

Group L

1. Croatia — 4-0-0 — +16 GD — 12 points
2. Czechia — 4-0-1 — +5 GD — 12 points
3. Faroe Islands — 2-0-3 — -1 GD — 6 points
4. Montenegro — 2-0-3 — -5 GD — 6 points
5. Gibraltar — 0-0-5 — -15 GD — 0 points

Europe (UEFA) 2026 World Cup qualification first round results

All times ET

The first two matchdays did not include teams participating in UEFA Nations League quarterfinal and relegation playoff games. That list is long and includes big names like Italy, Germany, Spain, Portugal, France, Croatia, Netherlands, and Denmark.

Matchday 1

Friday, March 21
Cyprus 2-0 San Marino
England 2-0 Albania
Andorra 0-1 Latvia
Romania 0-1 Bosnia & Herzegovina
Poland 1-0 Lithuania
Malta 0-1 Finland

Saturday, March 22
Liechtenstein 0-3 North Macedonia
Moldova 0-5 Norway
Montenegro 3-1 Gibraltar
Israel 2-1 Estonia
Czechia 2-1 Faroe Islands
Wales 3-1 Kazakhstan

Matchday 2

Monday, March 24
Lithuania 2-2 Finland
England 3-0 Latvia — Reece James scored stunning free kick
Albania 3-0 Andorra
San Marino 1-5 Romania
Bosnia & Herzegovina 2-1 Cyprus
Poland 2-0 Malta

Tuesday, March 25
Moldova 2-3 Estonia
Liechtenstein 0-2 Kazakhstan
Gibraltar 0-4 Czechia
Montenegro 1-0 Faroe Islands
North Macedonia 1-1 Wales
Israel 2-4 Norway

Matchday 3

Friday, June 6
Czechia 2-0 Montenegro
Estonia 1-3 Israel
Gibraltar 0-7 Croatia
North Macedonia 1-1 Belgium
Norway 3-0 Italy — Recap, video highlights
Wales 3-0 Liechtenstein

Saturday, June 7
Bosnia & Herzegovina 1-0 San Marino
Andorra 0-1 England
Malta 0-0 Lithuania
Albania 0-0 Serbia
Austria 2-1 Romania
Finland 0-2 Netherlands

Matchday 4

Monday, June 9

Kazakhstan 0-1 North Macedonia

Belgium 4-3 Wales

Croatia 5-1 Czechia

Estonia 0-1 Norway

Faroe Islands 2-1 Gibraltar

Italy 2-0 Moldova

Tuesday, June 10
Finland 2-1 Poland
Latvia 1-1 Albania
Netherlands 8-0 Malta
Romania 2-0 Cyprus
San Marino 0-4 Austria
Serbia 3-0 Andorra